Inside Unmanned Systems

APR-MAY 2018

Inside Unmanned Systems provides actionable business intelligence to decision-makers and influencers operating within the global UAS community. Features include analysis of key technologies, policy/regulatory developments and new product design.

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28 April/May 2018 unmanned systems
inside
SPECIAL REPORT NASA TECHNOLOGY
Small, autonomous spacecraft could one day self-assemble in orbit into
giant satellites capable of observing distant stars, monitoring the Earth,
mining asteroids or beaming energy homeward.
by Charles Q. Choi
B
igger is often better, not just
on Earth, but in space. The
larger an orbital observatory,
the more light it can gather, helping it
capture higher-resolution images and
see fainter details. The giant mirrors
of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, for
example, have helped it analyze the
skies of planets around distant stars.
The bigger a satellite is, however, the
more expensive it is to build and launch.
Now scientists are taking the first steps
toward creating fleets comprising thou-
sands of autonomous, bread loaf-sized
robots capable of assembling themselves
into giant spacecraft. This strategy could
not only enable the construction of space
telescopes bigger than any previously
launched into orbit, but a wide range of
other structures as well, such as asteroid
miners able to extract precious metals
or solar power stations that could beam
energy down to Earth's surface.
Satellites are typically limited in size
by the rockets and other launch vehi-
cles used to lug them or their compo-
nents into space. Space observatories
that focus on radio waves have less of
an issue because they can use antennas
that unfold in orbit. However, space
observatories that capture visible and
infrared light typically require mirrors
to do so, and developing foldable mir-
rors for those wavelengths is compli-
cated when it is even feasible.
Stargazers:
Giant Telescopes
that Build Themselves
NASA IS NOW EXAMINING
"THE POTENTIAL OF IN-SPACE
ASSEMBLY AND MANUFACTURING
FOR FUTURE NASA MISSIONS."
Sergio Pellegrino, senior research scientist,
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Photo courtesy of Space Structures Laboratory/Caltech.